City of Agony
by MortalInstruments3
Summary: After the fall of Sebastian (a.k.a. Jonathan) the world is in dire need of new Shadowhunters who can protect the world from the new incoming threat of demons. With the news of the Shadowhunters' numbers dwindling being sent across the Downworld, new and more powerful demons plan their attack on earth. It will be a struggle to survive this time and morals will be questioned. The Ear


**City of Agony**

It has been almost six months since the fall of Jonathan and none of the aftermath has stopped yet. The world is falling apart, yet the demon attacks have slowed, if not even to a creepily low level. So far it is a relief to have such low attack levels. Jace, Clary, Simon, Alec and Isabelle saved the entire world and universe from extinction this time around. They are regarded as heroes for their valiant effort. All seems to be going smoothly as these heroes return home, to their beloved Institute.

"Is this all we have become?" Jace asked the group of fellow "heroes". "Are we just figureheads for the Clave to use as objects of example."

"We are more than that," exclaimed Clary, "We now have more power than any other Shadowhunter in the past and that is a blessing."

"How will be able to go back to normal life? I just want a normal life," asked Simon.

The questions came pouring in as the group of friends made their way back to the how it was before the Great War. The Institute was still as it always was, its candelabras scattered around and burning bright, the head office had been cleaned from all the bloodshed, and the Shadowhunters, although few, still inhabited the long, cold hallways. The war was over but the struggle was just beginning. There were only few Shadowhunters left after the Great War and new Shadowhunters were in dire need. The Clave had been undergoing revisions to its system, so the topic of using the renewed Mortal Cup was not in their discussions.

Alec was reassigned to head of the Institute and was usually busy in his office all day long. Jace came walking in one day once he had had enough waiting.

"We can't just use the Mortal Cup to convert mundanes!" shouted Alec, "It is against the Accords."

"Alec, the Accords are dead. They no longer apply to any of us, besides we are heroes, we can do whatever we want to." replied Jace with a smirk on his face.

"I know but it is inhumane to do that."

"What if it is consensual Alec. You are not listening to me. We can make this work and restore our numbers before the threat returns. Have you not forgotten that it will return at some point?"

"I haven't forgotten, I've been too busy to worry about that but I will make it work somehow," replied Alec, finally giving in to the situation at hand.

During this conversation Clary crept in and was waiting by the doorway. "Hey Jace, can I steal you for a minute?"

"Sure, anything for you darling," whispered Jace to Clary.

"Hey, I've been wondering this for a while too, is Alec up for this?"

"He will be soon and if not, I plan on doing it tonight anyways." Jace quickly looked around to make sure that no one heard what he was saying. "Don't tell anyone."

"Jace, you're crazy. I like that…" replied Clary

"It wouldn't be me without such craziness, now would it."

As nightfall approaches, Clary and Jace prepare for the long night to come. Their mission is simple yet complicated, easy yet hard at the same time. The night will involve scouting out several mundanes to try to convince to turn themselves and possibly not even make it through the transformation process. In order that the mundanes transform successfully is all dependent on if the angel Raziel accepts them as his own. This may seem like a small task but most are refused due to their angelic impurities. Those who are accepted must now face the new trial of being trained to fight demons, which is even harder than the chance of being confirmed to the angelic breed.

Upon leaving the Institute, it is eerily quiet and still. Not even a mouse could be heard. Jace and Clary decided to meet in the nearby graveyard. They brought a few other people along with them, among them were Isabelle and Simon. They were back together after experiencing some rough times. Collectively, the four of them made up the entire assault team and they proceeded to the graveyard.

The graveyard is the place that no one dares to enter. There are rumors that it is haunted and that there is a ghost that haunts the place who died in the fall of Ney York City. The rumors are not true, but they keep all the mundanes from entering. The place had the stench of rotting flesh and every step one could imagine a hand reaching out and grabbing their leg to pull them down to the depths below. The sense upon entering is like an evil spirit lingering around, waiting for its next victim to devour. This demon has long since been abolished but his ghostly presence remains to this day.

"Jace, so what is the plan for tonight?" asked Clary.

"Well, I was thinking long and hard about it. My plan is to just walk up and ask, 'Hey. You cool with being a kickass demon fighter?'"

"Ok, seriously? Vampires can be just as cool as Shadowhunters," Simon blurted out in response to what Jace said.

Looking shocked but not totally surprised, Isabelle gave Simon "the look" after he had said this as if it he had said that Jace was a clown with a bunny hat.

"Sure, but are all vampires immune to light like you? That is their weakness. Every downworlder has some sort of weakness that can be exposed." Jace grinned when saying this as to really deal a blow in this boxing match of words.

"Let's just get on with this!" Clary yelled as she was clearly done with this show of strength that had started. "You two are acting like puppies trying to be the bigger dog. We can be grown-ups tonight and get this vital mission over tonight before we get caught."

The plan was set and was rather simple. It was to scout out several popular areas where there was little demonic influence and approach some of the mundanes individually and inquire if they were willing. All was going well and then it was Isabelle's turn to ask the question, except this mundane was not any ordinary mundane or even one at all. It was a demon in disguise.

Noticing that it was not an ordinary person Jace shouted to Isabelle, "Watch out!" But it was too late. The demon entangled her and dragged her off in to the dark alley behind them. "Hold on Isabelle. We are on our way"

Shuddering while speaking Simon asked, "Have you ever seen a demon like that before? It seemed odd to me that it took the form of a mundane."

Looking at his sword, then to Simon, Jace replied, "Yep, they sure are no fun to have dinner with. I learned that one the hard way."

Clary, with her eyes vibrant and cat like was ready for action this time and shouted, "For Isabelle!" and she thought to herself that this was like a book from the _Chronicles of Narnia_.

Thus, they began their assault on this other worldly demon who had looked horrendous like all other demons. This one, however, looked different than most others. It looked more appealing to the eyes, that is, if demons could ever be appealing to the eye.

Upon entering the dark alley, it was obvious why the demon chose to go here. It was dark, long and it smelled like the dead had been here for quite some time now. The stench was awful and made your eyes water. Simon had no problem at all because he is undead and the dead do not smell that bad to him. Jace heard the faint cry of Isabelle and knew exactly where it was coming from.

"Over here. I know where she is being taken. She is being taken to this abandoned high-rise that surprisingly has not been torn down yet by the mundanes," Jace whispered to Clary and Simon.

Simon with his super senses could pick up something rather strange about this place, "Something is different here, I can smell it."

Intrigued that Simon had become such a good vampire Clary asked, "What is it? It can't be that bad."

Being not even the slightest stunned Jace interjected, "It doesn't matter, we know what we are here to do and what must be done."

Carefully entering the hotel, Simon, Jace and Clary began their search for Isabelle in the abandoned high-rise. In the high-rise, there are no lights at all and there obviously had never even been any inhabitants either. If so, they had been long gone and possibly even devoured by the foul demons that called this place home. They found Isabelle but not before encountering several demons who were skillfully banished by the trained Shadowhunters. They returned to the Institute safe but failed in their primary mission. They wanted to acquire some new Shadowhunters but all of them that had been turned failed the confirmation process.

Night came and bed was a comfort that was looked forward to by most Shadowhunters. Clary, especially, was ready for bed after a long and nerve racking evening out. Just before she got into bed she heard a knock on the door. She was still dressed so she decided to answer it thinking it would be Isabelle asking for advice on which sleep gown to wear tonight. Instead of Izzy, Jace was standing there with his arm against the door frame. He was in sweats and a thin white t-shirt which outlined all the muscles of his chest and arms.

"Is it ok if I come in for a little while?" Jace suggested as he was clearly not here just to talk.

"Yes. I'm not really in clothes to go out if that is what you…"

She was cut off by Jace kissing her and closing the door behind them. The moonlight shone through the window and was enough to just barely see. Jace picked Clary up and was laying her down on the bed that wasn't too far away from the door. She stripped off his shirt and was defining every curve on his back. They all were just as she had remembered them to be, smooth yet defined.

This was it, Clary thought to herself, this was the moment that would change everything for her and Jace. Before she could realize it, her top was off along with both of their pants. Clary was quite surprised that Jace would do this because he had always kept her boundaries, but she wasn't going to stop him.

Jace lifted her, dragging her up his body, and she felt him suck in his breath at the contact. His hands slid under her, grasping her thighs as he walked them both towards the bed. The cold air hit her body from the open window and she shuddered; Jace went down on his knees, laying her gently atop the pile of her heaped clothes.

"Don't stop, I don't want you to stop," she said, and tightened her grip on him, and with a growl he took her mouth again, hot and demanding, sucking her lower lip into his mouth, his tongue sliding against hers. She tasted him in her mouth, the salt of sweat and cave water. She had never been kissed like this before, even by Jace. His tongue explored her mouth before he moved down her throat: she felt wet heat at the hollow of her collarbone and almost screamed. She grabbed at him instead, running her hands all over his body, wildly free in the knowledge that she could touch him, as much as she liked, however she liked. She felt as if she were drawing him, her hands mapping his shape, the slope of his back, flat stomach, the indentations above his hips, the muscles in his arms. As if, like a painting, he were coming to life under her hands.

When his hands slid underneath her bra to cup her breasts, she gasped at the sensation, then nodded at him when he froze, his eyes questioning. Go on. He unsnapped the front and the bra fell open and for a moment he just froze, staring at her as if she shone like witchlight.

Then he bent his head again and the feel of his mouth on her breasts did make her scream. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but he reached up and pried it away. "I want to hear you," he said, and it wasn't a demand, but a low, prayerful yearning. She nodded and buried her hands in his hair.

He kissed her shoulders and her breasts, her stomach, her hips; he kissed her everywhere while she gasped and moved against him in ways that made him moan and beg her to stop or it would all be over too soon. She laughed through her gasps, told him to go on, tried to hold herself still but it was impossible.

He stopped before removing each piece of clothing from either of them, asking her with eyes and words if he should keep going, and each time she nodded and said yes, go on, yes. And when finally there was nothing between them but skin, she stilled her hands, thinking that there was no way to ever be closer to another person than this, that to take another step would be like cracking open her chest and exposing her heart.

They were so close, both physically and emotionally, just when the fireworks were about to happen and the life changing even moments away, the alarm went off. Clary then realized that all of that, the pure intimacy of it, was all just a dream and was something that she was longing for.

Tapping his fingers on his desk as Jace, Clary and Isabelle entered his office Alec ignited, "I can't believe that you did this without my permission. I strictly told you not to do this and you went against what I said. Do you know how much jeopardy this puts us in?"

Just smiling while admiring what he had done, "Actually, it helps us in the long run and in the short run. I don't see any down sides to it."

"Jace, this is not a matter of discussion. We had orders from the Clave NOT to turn mundanes."

Isabelle trying to help, interjected, "Well, if you aren't going to do anything then we have to do something because you know that something is going to happen soon and there is no avoiding it by hiding your ass in the Clave."

Clary was just there, admiring the new art that appeared on the office walls. There is a new picture of the angel on the walls and one that was very unfamiliar to her. She just stared at it while the whole argument went on. Or was it a new picture, it was hard to tell.

"I think we are done here…." Alec was cut off from the demon alarm going off.

The alarm was buzzing as Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Alec ran over to the computer to see what was happening to the city. "There is a horde of demons over on second street. Isabelle, Clary, this is all you. Jace, I need a word with you."

"But you know that I should be going out there too." Jace was clearly annoyed by Alec's decision but knew that he had to obey orders.

There were several demon attacks on the city in the coming days and no one could figure out where they were coming from. They just kept appearing out of "thin air" and the numbers were only staying steady. Shadowhunters would die and other mundanes would be turned to replace the fallen. Days passed and the mystery remained about the demon attacks. The big four, as they called themselves, were getting tired of how often they were out.

"Alec, it has been two weeks. We need to find the demon's point of entrance. That should be our top priority," Jace was yelling at Alec, enraged from exhaustion.

"We are trying to find that out right now Jace. We think actually that it is somewhere close to the Institute so that should be helpful."

Another week passed and nothing had changed. The demons were still coming strong. Except on one dreary night Clary had a dream. It was a strange vision and she did not know what it meant at first. It took her back to when she was in the head office and she was just dozing off into the distance while Jace, Alec and Isabelle were arguing about changing mundanes into Shadowhunters. The only image from the dream that she could vividly remember was the picture of the angel Raziel and how it looked somewhat different and peculiar than what it had looked like in the past. And then it all made sense…

Surprised at how stupid she felt that she had not realized this fact sooner, Clary stood in the head office waiting for Alec or someone to arrive so that she could tell them about her dream. She decided to sit down after several minutes of waiting. Had they not seen her fire message. She made sure she sent it to Jace, Alec, Isabelle and a few others.

"Jace! I need to talk to you right now. It is important. Please just come in here and sit down for a second."

"Not now Clary. I don't have time to talk about love right now, there has been another demon attack in town and I need to go."

"No! We can stop all of this from happening if you just listen to me."

"Fine, I guess that I don't have much of a choice right now then," Jace reluctantly agreed to sit down and listen to what Clary had to say.

"I had a dream last night and I didn't realize what it meant until now. I know where all of these demon attacks are coming from."

"Well, why didn't you say that earlier, it could've saved us a lot of time and effort?"

Feeling annoyed at the fact that that even came out of his mouth, Clary just sat there thinking of what the plan would be now that they know where all of this is starting from.

"Clary! Where are they coming from?" Jace was yelling now because he had said it three times already with no response.

"Oh ya, that. Do you remember the picture in Alec's office?"

"The one of Raziel? Ya, I remember that one very well from when I was a kid."

"When we were in there a few weeks ago and debating turning mundanes I realized that the picture looked different, not in a big way but in a minute way. Then last night I had a dream of the picture and then I went through the picture and there I was, in the midst of the deepest realms of Hell."

Magnus had sneaked in and was eavesdropping but clearly noticeable. He was still in his regular fancy attire but today he had battle clothes as well because even the Downworld was involved in this. "Oh no… It can't be."

"Magnus, since when did you get here?" Clary was shocked that she hadn't noticed him before. Jace acted as if he knew Magnus was there but deep-down Clary knew that he was just as surprised as she was.

Magnus had a look of dread on his face that put fear into Clary as he walked farther into the room. "If this is what I think it is… We need to act now…" He was talking in partial sentences, mumbling to himself.

Finally collecting his thoughts, Magnus addresses the two of them, "This is bad. If this is what I think it is, which it most likely is, then we are in some serious peril. We need to prepare now. Call the clave and assemble the Shadowhunter-Downworlder meeting right now. We need to act now!" The tone in his voice was clear that this was no joking matter.

All was put into place except Clary, Jace, Isabelle and Simon all planned to collude on their own instead of taking the amount of time that the meeting was sure to take. Their plan was simple, well, simple enough in words and not so much in action. They would start by gearing up and entering the picture portal. After that it was easier said than done, the mission was to kill the greater demon in its own realm, leave the realm and then close the portal after they all left to make sure that no more demons could enter through it.

The first part was easy and went well. Entering the portal was a lot easier than they had originally thought and as they say, " _Facilis Descensus Averno"_ which means, " _easy is the descent into Hell_."

In fact, the descent was easy. Oddly, there were no demons to be found as the four of them crept farther and farther into the demon realm. At last, they laid eyes on who they had been looking for, the greater demon of the realm.

"I knew you would be here soon," The voice came out of nowhere and echoed throughout the entire realm. "Don't worry, all of my minions are on their way to assault your precious earth but while they are away we get to play."

The fight was intense but before dying the greater demon turned into something else, someone else. He turned into someone who was very close to the four of them who will never be forgotten. Someone who was taken from this earth too early for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was Max.

Secretly he had always been this greater demon but now it was fully revealed. "You think that you can stop me? Now take your best shot, I doubt you can even swing a punch now," His tone was full of mockery and hatred.

Bewildered and shook to her core, Izzy froze in her shoes and refused to even take another step. She turned as pale as her sparkling whip and her legs gave out from under her. She was knocked onto the floor but was still staring at the figure in front of her.

Jace also turned pale but stood in place with his weapon ready and pointed towards Max. Clary and Simon were just as surprised but not as frozen as Isabelle.

Max, seeing his opportunity to strike, lunged at just the right moment. He barreled towards Izzy knowing very well that she was unable to do anything at all. As he was in midair something else happened. Something more bizarre than the greater demon turning out to be Max. During Max's lunge towards Isabelle, Jace also leaped into the air but to land right in front of Izzy. Just as he neared striking Jace, it happened.

Everyone thought that the heavenly fire had dissipated from Jace's body after he had used it to kill Sebastian, but it was still there. Jace didn't even know that it was still there, he was just willing to take the blow for Izzy. Right before Max struck Jace, Jace exploded in heavenly fire.

He shot out blazing gold fire in front of him as if he was a human flamethrower. It was such a glorious sight to behold because even the angels themselves can only dream of seeing the heavenly fire even just once in all eternity. The flames ceased and when the heavenly fire had resided all that was left of Max was a skeleton. Jace's veins continued to glow a gold color. It was clear that none could escape the wrath of the heavenly fire.

It seemed as if the world had come to end, cities were destroyed and Shadowhunters were spread thin across the world. There was not much left and yet the shadow world was united for this moment, to protect the one thing they had in common, the need for their home. All pure demons that were anywhere on the earth had been utterly destroyed with the downfall of Max. The world was cleansed this time, but it was known that it wouldn't last long. There would be much rebuilding and restoration to come but for now they took the world as it was, broken and burning.

"With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone."

-Ezekiel 38:22-


End file.
